
By Byron V. Acohido
Malicious intruders have long recognized that getting their hands on privileged credentials equates to possessing the keys to the kingdom. This is because privileged accounts are widely deployed all across modern business networks — on-premises, in the cloud, across DevOps environments and on endpoints.
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However, lacking robust protection, privileged accounts, which are intended to give administrators the access they need to manage critical systems, can instead be manipulated to enable attackers to move laterally across an organization’s network.
In recognition of the significant security risks privileged accounts can pose, industry research firm Gartner recently released the first-ever Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management.1-
Last Watchdog asked Adam Bosnian, executive vice president at CyberArk – the company that pioneered the market – to put into context how much can be gained by prioritizing privilege in today’s dynamic, fast-evolving digital business landscape. Here are excerpts edited for clarity and length:
LW: Why is privileged access management so important?
Bosnian: Privileged access has become the fulcrum of the success or failure of advanced attacks. Nearly 100 percent of all advanced attacks involve the compromise of privileged credentials.
This is a mounting challenge for organizations because privileged accounts exist and ship in every single piece of technology, including servers, desktops, applications, databases, network devices and more. …more